CUP: Friday Auto Club Notebook

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the Left Coast this week for the running of the Auto Club 400 on Sunday, race No. 5 of the 2013 season. SPEED will televise Sprint Cup practice at 2:30 p.m. ET, followed by NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at 4:30 p.m. and Sprint Cup qualifying at 7 p.m.

Brad Keselowski comes into this weekend’s race leading Dale Earnhardt Jr. by nine points and Jimmie Johnson by 15.

It is with considerable sadness that we report the passing of former Sonoma Raceway vice president John Cardinale, who lost his battle with cancer earlier this week. John was a friend to all in the media and someone respected and admired by all who knew him. All of us at SPEED extend our thoughts and prayers to John’s friends and family.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.